The combination of Duke Ellington’s superb piano playing and John Coltrane’s saxophone makes for a very beautiful piece of music. The song was originally written by Ellington in 1935, apparently spontaneously to calm a fight down! This version is on Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, released in 1963. There’s barely a note out of place,…
11/05/2018: “Kuj Yato” by Clap! Clap!
The title of this song, and the artist who produced it, do look a bit random. But I double checked, and this is how they…
10/05/2018: “Who Loves The Sun” by The Velvet Underground
The Sun is an often underappreciated, yet undeniably essential part of life. Sometimes it seems too hot, sometimes too cold, but the Sun is always…
09/05/2018: “Riders On The Storm” by The Doors
The Doors had a sound that stood apart from many contemporary rock bands. The use of Rhodes pianos or organs, the walking bass in songs…
08/05/2018: “Ifetayo” by Black Truth Rhythm Band
The Black Truth Rhythm Band are an interesting band because, despite the general African aesthetic, such the obvious influences from Afro-beats and the fact that…
07/05/2018: “Paulette” by Balla Et Ses Balladins
The groove on this one is just classic; the guitar playing in particular is just stellar. It’s a very relaxed, summery tune, from the casual…
06/05/2018: “Dancing In The Dark” by Bruce Springsteen
“Dancing In The Dark” was the first single released from Bruce Springsteen’s huge 1984 album, Born In The U.S.A. It’s a very fast, driven song in…
05/05/2018: “Keep It Dark” by Genesis
“Keep It Dark” is a rather odd song because of its syncopated rhythms and 6/4 time signature. The song was originally on 1981’s Abacab, but…
04/05/2018: “Uptown Top Ranking” by Althea and Donna
The way reggae often works is that the instrumental track of a song, the “riddim”, has quite a few versions and vocalists. 1977’s “Uptown Top…
03/05/2018: “Thousand Finger Man” by Candido
I came across this on Dj Marky’s Influences compilation. It’s a great album with a variety of unusual songs. “Thousand Finger Man” was originally the title…